Talking Academic Communication

Sardines delivers a strange yet highly intriguing opening to the Inside No9 series, pulling viewers in with its unusual plot and disturbingly unforgettable twist; some viewers may have difficulty sleeping after watching. You've been warned! The episode throws more than ten characters into a bedroom wardrobe, immediately creating a sense of forced closeness that feels awkward, tense, and deeply uncomfortable. This cramped setting doesn’t just grab attention—it drives the entire story. The characters literally pack together like sardines, and the pressure of the space makes every conversation sharper and every secret harder to hide. Although the setup looks like a comedy at first, Sardines quickly reveals that the relationships in the room are far more complicated than expected. The overlapping dialogue and the confusion caused by imposters like Ian (or should that be Pip) add to the chaotic energy, and while some viewers may find this hard to follow, others can enjoy the challe...

Following a viewing of Inside No. 9's Sardines by around 70 Thai students, they all wrote short reviews. These then formed the basis of group reviews submitted to ChatGPT with the instructions to synthesise, only use content contained in the reviews and to maintain as much of the original review language as possible. The result was the following. “Sardines” is a clever and creepy episode of Inside No. 9 that starts off as a funny party game and slowly becomes something much darker. Set almost entirely inside a small, stuffy wardrobe, the episode uses its confined setting to build tension and discomfort—emotionally, visually, and psychologically. As more characters enter the space, we begin to feel that we are like sardines in a can, and the emotional pressure builds along with the physical. At first, the story seems like a light comedy. There are polite but awkward interactions, a strange game of hide and seek, and a cast of diverse characters. The tone is weird and funny, with m...

Insights from Thailand: A Collective Perspective on Inside No. 9's Sardines Following a viewing of Inside No. 9's Sardines by around 70 Thai students, they all wrote short reviews. These then formed the basis of group reviews submitted to ChatGPT with the instructions to synthesise, only use content contained in the reviews and to maintain as much of the original review language as possible. The result was the following. The Inside No. 9 episode "Sardines" is a memorable blend of dark humour, tension, and unsettling twists that makes for a unique viewing experience. The episode centres on a game of sardines, in which characters must hide in a small, cramped space—a wardrobe—at an engagement party. This confined setting not only builds suspense but also brings hidden tensions to the surface as each new character is introduced. This intriguing premise allows for a mix of awkwardness and humour, with the close surroundings sparking both comedic exchanges and an increasi...

Abstract  Oral communication skills are widely accepted as vital graduate competencies. However, when compared with public speaking, formal meetings have received much less attention (Daff, 2013). This is despite the greater prevalence of such unplanned oral communication in the business world (Abrahams, 2017) and the apprehension formal meetings appear to evoke. This paper presents the use of a business meeting role-play simulation with a group of first-year undergraduate Accounting and Finance students at a university in England. The activity aims to provide opportunities to discuss and solve conflicts in a mock business environment, followed by reflection with reference to graduate competencies. The paper explains how the approach was developed, determines the competencies on which students chose to reflect and analyses the reasons given for choosing the most common competencies. The analysis shows that the competencies chosen by students for reflection generally align with the ...